Web Hosting Tools – Portsmouth, NH – GlobalSign, Inc., the global Digital Certificate security specialist has announced the launch of its new Enterprise PKI Lite solution – a highly cost effective Software as a Service PKI solution that allows small to medium sized enterprises to issue Digital Certificates to as few as 5 users. Issued Certificates can be used for online authentication, email security and the creation of trusted electronic documents. Enterprise PKI Lite (ePKI Lite) replaces the need for enterprises to build their own CA, which are costly and technically complex combinations of software, hardware and cryptographic key management, or rely on more expensive hosted PKI solutions from other providers.

ePKI Lite is available as an instant activation module for GlobalSign’s Certificate Center (GCC), a web based Software as a Service (SaaS) platform for one-stop-shop management of all types of Digital Certificate – SSL, Code Signing, Client Certificates, and Adobe Certified Document Services Digital IDs. By plugging into the GlobalSign infrastructure enterprises do not need to create their own Certificate Authority (CA), embed Root Certificates in browsers and devices or maintain their own required accreditations and compliancy programs (such as WebTrust for CAs). As internal PKI deployments can run into millions, ePKI offers dramatically lower costs per user and due to the licensing model of pay-per-user, avoids the risk of project overspend.

Enterprises go through a one-time vetting to establish their Certificate “profiles” (the one or more company-wide or departmental digital identity to be used in their issued Certificates). Once vetted, the ePKI Administrators can begin issuing Certificates to users – typically staff or extranet users. Applications for Certificates can be made by users themselves through GlobalSign hosted portals, or by Administrator initiated requests directly to the user – all managed via the GCC web based interface. This approach allows quick deployments rather than the usual weeks or months of pre-configuration required of alternative solutions. And once deployed, Administrators have the ability to issue Certificates immediately around the clock, every day of the year.

Digital Certificates issued through ePKI Lite bind real-world identities to cryptographic keys and can be used for:

Digital Signatures for Email – preventing tampering of email content and proving origin of the email (essential in these days of phishers using email identities of people and departments)Encryption for Email – user communities can exchange email without risk of the contents being exposed to unintended recipients or email sniffersTrusted Adobe PDF Documents – users can use the Adobe Certified Document Services (CDS) technology to certify and add approval signatures to Adobe PDFs to prevent tampering of contents and to prove authorship. The recipient requires only the Adobe Reader free software to read the PDF, no plug-ins neededTrusted Microsoft Office Documents – users can digitally sign Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access documents directly from Microsoft Office to prevent tampering of contents and to prove authorshipUser Authentication – access control to online or network resources via SSL VPNs (available even in standard browsers without client or server software required)

“Digital Certificates have proven to be a versatile and highly secure means of online security, securing everything from servers, to email, code, and documents,” comments Lila Kee, Director of Product Management, GlobalSign, “GlobalSign’s ePKI Lite offers the convenience of unifying the management of Certificates used by enterprises to bind corporate identities to people and departments, at a significantly lower cost and with a much faster deployment time than they have traditionally experienced through internally managed PKI or alternative hosted solutions.”

ePKI Lite has no set up fees, no annual hosting fees and operates on a pay per user model. Costs start at only $855 for 10 users, or $830 for 5 users needing Certificates for the Adobe secure PDF solution, and costs can be under $60 per user for deployments of 1000 or more users. Customers switching to ePKI Lite from other hosted PKI solutions can expect significant cost savings.

About GlobalSign
Established in 1996 and as a WebTrust accredited public certificate authority, GlobalSign offers publicly trusted SSL, including EV SSL Certificates, S/MIME and Code Signing Certificates for use on all platforms including mobile devices. Its Trusted Root solution uses the widely distributed GlobalSign Root CA certificates to provide immediate PKI trust for Microsoft CA and enterprise CAs, eliminating the costs associated with using untrusted Root Certificates. Its partnership with Adobe to provide Certified Document Services (CDS) enables secure digitally signed PDF e-documents. These core Digital Certificate solutions allow its thousands of customers to conduct secure online transactions and data transfer, distribute tamper-proof code, and bind identities to client certificates for email security and remote two factor authentication. The company has a history of innovation within the online security market and has offices in the US, UK, Belgium, Japan, and China.